


you're so golden

by samwhambam



Category: Schitt's Creek
Genre: Alternate Universe, David is still rich and owns a gallery, Fine Line AU, Happy Ending, Inspired by a Harry Styles Album, Inspired by a Harry Styles Song, Just a little bit of Angst, M/M, Patrick moves for a job, Roadtrips, a love letter to california, it follows the themes and storyline of fine line by harry styles, lovers to exes to friends to boyfriends, takes place in LA
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-17
Updated: 2020-11-17
Packaged: 2021-03-10 07:33:45
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 15,301
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27599638
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/samwhambam/pseuds/samwhambam
Summary: What if Patrick ran away to LA and met David?Or, David and Patrick reimagined through the album Fine Line by Harry Styles.
Relationships: Patrick Brewer & Rachel, Patrick Brewer/David Rose, Stevie Budd & Patrick Brewer
Comments: 89
Kudos: 150





	1. Golden

**Author's Note:**

> Much love to TINN who is one of my favorite people and an extraordinary beta who is very reassuring and lets me send her a million messages at night and doesn't get mad at me. <3
> 
> Much love and adoration to another one of my favorite people, dameofpowellestate who when I said “okay but David and Patrick but make it a fine line au” she said “absolutely” and checked in to make sure it was happening lol  
> 
> 
> This one is slightly angsty at parts, but don't worry.

_Golden_

_“You’re so golden, you’re so golden. I’m out of my head and I know that you’re scared because hearts get broken.”_

Patrick turned up the radio, clicked the dial a few more notches and sighed in contemptment as he looked to his left. The Pacific Ocean glittered in the rising sunlight and _this_ was the picture he had always had in his mind when he thought of California. It was why he had said yes when his manager asked if he’d relocate from Toronto when the company he worked for wanted a wider North American reach than just spanning across Canada. 

He tapped his left foot as the guitar kicked in, seeped into his skin and he was grinning before he could register the moment. 

There was a groan next to him and he glanced over quickly at David, who reached blindly for his sunglasses that he had dropped into the door when he got in the car. 

“God, it’s still so early,” David’s voice was hoarse as he put on the sunglasses. 

“You were only asleep for an hour and a half. Less than,” Patrick said. He lifted his hand off the steering wheel and squeezed David’s thigh. “Go back to sleep, David.”

David hummed as he settled back into his slightly reclined seat. 

“You can also look up cafes that we can stop at for caffeine,” Patrick said. “We’re about to hit Santa Barbara.”

David sat up and grabbed his phone. “God, yes please, coffee.”

They got their coffee and Patrick drove them to the nearest beach. They sat at a picnic table set out in the park before the hill sloped gently down to the sand. 

The sun had reached that perfect point in the sky, where the night had been chased away, but there was still the night haze that softened the glow of the sun and David was beautiful in the light. Patrick couldn’t take his eyes off of him. David looked over at him as he drank from his to-go cup and he wrinkled a smile at him when he caught Patrick’s eye. 

“How much longer is the trip?” David asked as he turned on the bench so he was facing Patrick. 

“About four hours,” Patrick replied. He mirrored David’s body. 

“You know we could’ve flown instead and been there faster. And I wouldn’t have had to get up before the sun,” David teased. He ran a finger over Patrick’s knuckles, his fingertip was soft and Patrick put down his cup and wrapped his hand around David’s. 

“But then we wouldn’t be able to appreciate the Pacific Coast,” Patrick nodded towards the water. 

“Planes have windows,” David countered. He held up a finger. “And snacks.”

Patrick considered David, maybe he had misjudged the entire road trip idea. They hadn’t been dating long. They met a few months ago when his coworker's retirement celebration was at David's gallery. Patrick had been itching to leave Los Angeles for the weekend and a road trip up to Monterey had been his first idea. It felt like the perfect way to get to know David a little better, away from the parties, and the crowds that they were usually a part of.

He briefly considered turning back. The hotel room he had booked for them was expensive, but maybe he would be able to get a refund for the second night. But he wanted to keep going. He knew David was going to like it, in the end, even if he acted like he was above the kitsch that was Cannery Row. The taffy shops would make up for David’s disgruntled musings about beach themed shops. 

“It’s going to be fun,” Patrick said. He leaned forward and pressed a soft kiss to David’s lips. “Trust me.” Another soft kiss. “It’s going to be worth it tonight.”

“Oh, do you have plans for tonight?” David asked. His fingers flexed on Patrick’s arms and Patrick smiled before he caught David’s lips in another kiss. 

“Well, our room overlooks the water. And is private and I have no plans on leaving the bed after dinner.”

David smirked so Patrick dipped his head and pressed his lips to the side of David’s neck. 

“That sounds nice, but I do think we could’ve gone without all the driving.”

Patrick pulled back, tilted his head and stared at David. He had to admit it, he found it very cute when David complained. 

“What?” David pulled at Patrick’s hand. “We could’ve.”

“Let’s get back into the car,” Patrick laughed. 

~

“Oh fuck,” David panted. Patrick looked up from where he was mouthing at David’s balls, his hand slick on David’s cock, and zeroed in on where David’s hands were tangled in the sheets beneath him. Golden hour had settled over Monterey and the soft sunlight streamed in through the french doors that they had opened, that led out onto the balcony. 

“You’re beautiful,” Patrick murmured as he nuzzled into the crease of David’s thigh. 

“Patrick,” David gasped as Patrick let go of his cock to scoop a finger full of Patrick’s come from David’s ass. 

“Are you going to come for me?” Patrick took the head of David’s cock into his mouth and pushed his finger into David’s ass, past the rim. David moaned underneath him as Patrick crooked his finger. 

“Yes, yes, Patrick,” David’s back arched as he tilted his head back and Patrick was mesmerized by all the olive skin, lit up in gold from the setting sun. 

David’s cock was heavy on Patrick’s tongue, and he loved it. Loved how it felt, loved how David shook underneath him as Patrick sucked his cock and tapped at his prostate. Patrick was overwhelmed with it all, but he kept his eyes open, desperate to not miss any part of this moment. 

David came with a shout, his body spent from their post-dinner romp and Patrick moaned as his mouth flooded with David’s come. He wiped his hand on his own hip, and pressed slick kisses up David’s body as he laid out next to him, on David’s right so as to not block out the light and the view. 

“Patrick,” David pulled him into a kiss and when he pulled away, David’s eyes were wide, mouth soft and Patrick had to kiss him again. 

Patrick ran his thumb over David’s lower lip, pulled at it slightly as he pressed a kiss to David’s cheekbone. David sighed as he tilted his head and Patrick peppered kisses along his temple, his hairline. David’s hands were gentle as they swiped over Patrick’s arm and shoulder. 

“I think tonight did make up for being in the car for so long,” David teased. His hair was mused where it was stark against the crisp white of the pillow. Patrick reached a hand up and brushed his fingers through the loose curls that had broken free from the pomade he knew David did his hair with.

“Good,” Patrick whispered. It felt good to hear David’s admission after the slightly tense ride up, hearing the teasing in his voice made Patrick smile. Which caused David to grin at him, his wide, unabashed grin, and Patrick knew he was going to fall so hard for David. 

Patrick kept his eyes on David, even as the light began to fade and David mentioned getting dessert from the ice cream shop down the street. They traded kisses until Patrick nudged David to look at the shop’s hours and then they had to rush to put clothes on, look presentable and power walk down the street. 

  
  



	2. Watermelon Sugar

_ Watermelon Sugar _

_ “Tastes like strawberries, on a summer evenin’, and it sounds just like a song. I want your belly and that summer feelin’. I don't know if I could ever go without—watermelon sugar high.” _

The June sun was beating down on Los Angeles with a vengeance and Patrick walked down the street quickly, past all the restaurant patios filled with people. He checked the address David had sent him and stopped at the restaurant at the corner. The bar was loud, and he walked past the seated dining area, to the door that led to the back patio, just like David had instructed him. 

The back patio was full of people, tables were stacked with food and drinks. David was leaning against a planter, talking to someone Patrick was pretty sure he had met before, but he couldn’t remember their name. He couldn’t remember many of the people David had introduced him to during the two months they had been seeing each other, they all seemed to blur together. 

He kept his focus on David as he made his way through the crowd. He watched as David looked around, then paused once he noticed Patrick and a sly smile stretched across his lips. Patrick smiled back. When he was close, Patrick pressed a kiss to his cheek as David wrapped an arm around his shoulder. The man walked away without saying anything, and Patrick stepped into the vacant space. David offered his drink to Patrick.

Patrick raised his eyebrows at him, but accepted the drink. He took a sip and his eyes fluttered closed at the cold cocktail. The strawberry and mint were perfectly balanced on his tongue and the rum was  _ good.  _ Better than the drinks they had in San Diego a few weeks before, which was a high bar to pass.

“Good, right?” David asked as he leaned forward. He pulled the glass down, away from Patrick’s lips and kissed him. Patrick hummed into it as David pulled him closer and he had no choice but to wrap his arms around David’s middle, careful not to spill the drink. 

He could taste the cocktail in the kiss, on David’s tongue as he licked into his mouth. When David pulled back, Patrick whimpered and tried to steal another kiss, but David was smirking and just out of reach. 

“Shall I get another one?” David asked. 

“Yes,” Patrick hissed as he leaned forward.

“I meant another drink,” David clarified. Patrick felt his bottom lip turn out. 

“That too,” Patrick said. 

David left him to go to the bar, and Patrick leaned against the brick as he looked around the party. There were a lot of people there that looked familiar, people he had met in passing, but no one he could go up to and talk to. He was surrounded by David’s friends and he was out of his element. 

There was a soft cough next to him and he turned to find Stevie standing next to him. 

Stevie, the only one of David’s friends that Patrick had any reason to know. She was his best friend, and just as over all this shit as Patrick was. 

“Good party, huh?” Stevie asked as she looked over the crowd. 

“The best,” Patrick replied. Stevie’s lips twitched into a smile. 

“David getting more drinks?” She asked. Patrick looked over at the bar, where David was holding two drinks as he sipped from one and talked to the person in front of him. 

“Supposed to. But I think he got distracted.”

“Sounds right.”

They talked until David came back and handed Patrick a fresh drink. Then they ate, picked at the food that had been laid out on the table nearest them where Stevie had spent most of the evening sitting. 

The rest of the evening was spent dancing and drinking. A cool breeze blew in around the dancers and David pulled Patrick in closer as their hips swayed together. David’s smile was wide and Patrick kissed him more times that night than he had since they started seeing each other. 

David’s eyes were on him all night and they drank, and danced, and ate until David was pulling Patrick out of the restaurant and down the street, into an Uber and up to David’s apartment. 

As soon as the door closed, David’s lips were on Patrick’s and he led Patrick into the bedroom, pushing him down onto the bed all without breaking the kiss. It was a dance they had done enough times for Patrick to get addicted to it. David kneeled at the foot of the bed, right in front of where Patrick sat. 

He pulled at the laces of Patrick’s white sneakers, pulled them and his socks off, followed by his shorts and his fingers unbuttoned Patrick’s short sleeved shirt quickly and pushed it down Patrick’s arms quickly. 

Patrick laughed as David tripped over his own shoe laces as he pulled his hightops off, he was tipsy and couldn’t hold back the joy of the moment. David just rolled his eyes at him, but he seemed unaffected and soon he was pushing Patrick back until they were laying on the bed, both naked except for their boxer briefs. 

The air conditioner kicked on and Patrick shivered as the cool air that hit him from the vent right above David’s bed. David’s lips were insistent on Patrick’s, they teased him as they nipped at Patrick’s bottom lip.

Patrick moaned as one of David’s hands slipped down his side, tucked itself into his boxer briefs. His breath hitched as David’s hand wrapped around his hardening cock. 

“Patrick,” David whispered as he kissed along Patrick’s neck as he snaked down his body. “Lift your hips for me.”

He did, and David pulled the boxer briefs from his body, down his legs. His hands were everywhere and Patrick let out a deep content breath at David’s touch. It felt good, it always felt good. Patrick enjoyed the feeling of David on him, of the sensation of their skin touching. He enjoyed David. 

“Been wanting to do this all night,” David murmured against Patrick’s thigh and Patrick gasped as David’s tongue laved across his rim. 

“Oh,” Patrick breathed. David’s hands were on his hips, and he reached for them, gripped them as David speared his tongue into Patrick and licked him until he was open, loose and wet. 

He loved being under David like this, he was addicted to the way David touched him, like he was a treasure and David wanted to meticulously unwrap and examine. David touched him like he was the only thing that David wanted to pay attention to, he had every bit of David’s concentration on him as David fingered him, the lube slick between them. 

Patrick watched with wide eyes as David ripped open a condom packet, rolled it on. “Can you put a pillow under your hips?”

Patrick moved quickly and pushed the pillow under his hips. 

“Oh, fuck,” Patrick groaned as David pushed into him. 

“You always feel so good—fuck, Patrick.”

David leaned forward until he was laying on top of Patrick and fucked into him with smooth, shallow thrusts that left Patrick breathless. David’s skin was slick with sweat against him, the heat trapped around them left Patrick gasping. He wrapped his arms around David and rolled them over until he was on top. 

“Oh, Patrick,” David gasped as he grabbed onto Patrick’s shoulders and held him tightly. His fingers slid against Patrick’s sweat-slicked skin until they scratched through the short strands of Patrick’s hair and goosebumps erupted over Patrick’s skin at the sensation. He loved it, and wanted David’s touch on him all the time. 

David was buried deep in Patrick and Patrick moved his hips slowly as he adjusted to the angle and the depth. He moved his legs until he was comfortable and he could raise and lower himself on David’s cock. 

“Feels so good,” Patrick murmured as he moved. His eyes slipped closed as he chased his pleasure and David’s fingers dug into Patrick’s hips, 10 little circles of soft pain. 

This was  _ it.  _ Patrick had never felt like this before, had never felt as free than he did when he was in bed with David. His skin was on fire, covered with goosebumps from the pleasure and the breeze of the AC, now that he was on longer on bottom. 

David murmured gentle encouragements, slicked his hand and then reached for Patrick’s hard cock. It didn’t take much for Patrick to come and David followed soon afterward. 

They collapsed onto the bed, and Patrick closed his eyes as David disposed of the condom and brought a washcloth to the bed. 

“Thank you,” Patrick whispered as David cleaned him up. 

“Mhm,” David hummed. 

He came back to bed quickly and Patrick turned towards him. David wrapped a hand along Patrick’s jaw and pulled him in for a quick kiss. Patrick could still taste the strawberry mojito and he reached up, placed a hand on David’s neck and held him there so he could kiss him again. And again. 

Patrick wasn’t ready for the moment to end. 

  
  



	3. Adore You

_ Adore You _

_ “You don’t have to say you love me, I just wanna tell you something; lately you’ve been on my mind. Honey, I’d walk through fire for you, just let me adore you.” _

Patrick had fallen hard for David Rose. David was sweet and a blushing romantic, even through his hard as ice exterior. He cared about people and loved to be surrounded by friends, even if he had to throw money around to keep them there. 

He could see the good in David and it enamoured him, made him want more. 

He was on his way out of his office when it struck him how badly he wanted to see David that night, even if Wednesdays weren’t usually their nights. He waited until he was in his car, cellphone propped up on his center console, and out of the parking garage before he called his—whatever they were in relation to each other. 

“Hello?” David sounded distracted, but that was fine. He was probably still tying up loose ends at the gallery, Patrick knew he had gone out the night before, so he’s sure David had a very late start to his day. 

“Hey, do you have dinner plans?” Patrick asked as he navigated his car onto the busy street. “I was thinking about lasagna tonight.”

“Yeah, sorry,” David cleared his throat. “I’m doing happy hour with Duncan and a few of their friends at Filifera. Can I come over after?”

Patrick felt his chest deflate, but he nodded. He was disappointed, but it wasn’t his or David’s fault that David had plans. Even if David had deemed Filifera overrated the last time they went together. 

“Yeah, that’s fine,” Patrick said. He had ice cream in his fridge and waffle cones in his pantry, a perfect dessert for post drinks and post pizza. Patrick wasn’t going to put in the work of making lasagna from scratch if just one person was eating it. 

“Hey,” David’s voice was soft through the telephone and Patrick didn’t realize there was background noise on David’s end until it was gone. “I’ll come over afterwards. Sorry, I didn’t—Did I forget about plans we had?”

“No,” Patrick was quick to answer. He narrowly avoided hitting a car in front of him who came to a sudden stop, halfway through a yielded left turn. “I just left work and was thinking about how I wanted to see you.”

“Oh.”

Patrick waited for David to continue. 

“That’s uh, very sweet,” David cleared his throat. “I’ll text you afterwards? Before I’m on my way?”

“Sounds good,” Patrick said. He hated L.A. traffic and barely caught David’s next words through his haze of concentration as he tried to maneuver his car through a crowded intersection. 

“Really, that was nice of you to think of me,” David murmured. “I have to go. I can hear Duncan calling out for me. But I’ll see you later.”

The phone call clicked to an end and Patrick drove home quietly. 

He ordered pizza and fell asleep afterwards on his couch while watching Planet Earth. David Attenborough’s voice was too soothing for him to stay up after the day he had. Patrick blinked an eye open and huffed as he pulled his cellphone out from underneath him. He answered the call once he noticed David’s name and picture filled the screen. 

“Hey!” David’s voice was loud and Patrick pulled the phone away from his ear, hit the speakerphone button and left it on the armrest above his head. 

“Hey, what time is it?” Patrick asked as he yawned, both eyes were closed now. 

“It’s 9:30.”

“Oh fuck,” Patrick gasped as he sat up. 

“I know, I’m sorry it’s so late, but I lost track of time and you know how Duncan is,” David explained. 

“I don’t, actually,” Patrick said as he pushed himself off the couch, grabbed his phone and walked into his kitchen. He needed to put the pizza in the fridge and probably wash his dishes. 

He could hear the intake of breath on David’s end. 

“Can I still come over?” David’s voice was small and Patrick was agreeing before David could make another comment. 

“Yes, of course,” Patrick turned all the lights off, except for a single floor lamp in his living room. “How long will it take you to get here?”

“30 to 40 minutes,” He sounded far away. “My uber will be here in 2 minutes, so hopefully closer to 30.”

“Okay, call me when you get here?” Patrick asked. He had moved to his bedroom and dropped his phone onto his bed. He had enough time for a quick shower and some general cleaning. 

“Yes, of course.”

When Patrick opened the door, David fell into his apartment, all long, loose limbs and rosy cheeks. Happy hour had been very happy, apparently. 

“Hi,” David whispered as he wrapped his arms around Patrick’s shoulders. David’s breath was flammable and Patrick avoided the kiss David was trying to plant on him. 

“Oh, you’re drunk,” Patrick commented. His hands were firm on David’s waist as David reared back in disbelief. 

“I am not,” David’s eyebrows were livid at the accusation. 

Patrick hummed. “I think you are. I have pizza in the fridge. Let me reheat some slices for you?”

“Ok, yes,” David pushed himself out of Patrick’s arms and walked his way into Patrick’s kitchen. 

Patrick put slices in the microwave and pressed a sleepy kiss to David’s forehead. 

“Eat up,” Patrick whispered, still half asleep. “I’m going to get in bed.”

“Okay,” David’s eyes were wide on his. 

Patrick was teetering on the edge of sleep when a soft breeze graced his skin between the sheets and the bed dipped as David climbed in. Patrick turned to him as David settled in.

“How was your day?” Patrick asked as he opened his eyes to look at David. 

“Good,” David whispered. “Yours?”

“Long and boring,” Patrick replied. “My mom called earlier and we talked all through my lunch break. It was nice.”

“Nice doesn’t seem like something that would line up with talking with a parent on the phone for that long,” David teased.

“You should try it sometime, it might surprise you.”

Patrick fell asleep before David could make a follow up comment. 

When he woke up in the morning, David was gone and there was a text on Patrick’s phone.

_ Sorry, I couldn’t fall asleep so I just went back to my place. Didn’t want to wake you.  _

It was sent at midnight.

Their prearranged dinner that night got cancelled by David with a phone call an hour before their reservation. He had to go see someone about something and he was very sorry and would come over afterwards if Patrick wanted. Patrick said no, told him to go ahead and enjoy himself and that he’d see him that weekend. He knew he was being petty as he pouted into the phone, but he was hurt and David needed to know that while Patrick accepted it, he didn’t like it.

It was getting harder and harder to get in the same room as David Rose. He was increasingly busy on the days where they didn’t set up plans days before, and even some of their plans were cancelled in order for David to go to networking events for future showings at his gallery, with fleeting artists that needed to be wined and dined before they would consent to showing with David. 

Patrick tried not to be frustrated, but each time he saw David and actually got to be with him, his heart beat faster and he felt himself fall farther into the abyss that was David Rose. He yearned to be near him when they were apart and he hated that aching feeling when they said goodbye and he wasn’t sure if he’d be able to get another moment with him as soon as he’d like.

But with each cancelled plan, Patrick felt further and further away from a future with David. He was starting to feel like it just wasn’t going to happen and he was starting to hate himself for trying so hard to make David a priority when David wasn’t doing the same for him. 

He was grasping at David’s attention, begging for a chance that he was starting to think wasn’t attainable. 

  
  



	4. Lights Up

_ Lights Up _

_ “All the lights couldn’t put out the dark, runnin’ through my heart. Lights up and they know who you are, know who you are, do you know who you are?” _

There was a timeline to being with David Rose and Patrick had reached the end of his. He knew it was coming, had been able to see it coming from a mile away, but it didn’t change how big of an impact David breaking up with him had. 

David had begun pulling away a month ago. What was missed meetings and cancelled plans every once in a while, turned into radio silence from David for days on end, then half-hearted conversations and desperate sex where Patrick tried to hold onto the man he had feelings for.

There were more and more social media posts of David with other people, drunken texts at midnight that Patrick ignored until morning time out of principle. He wasn’t—he couldn’t be one of the people that David was with until he got bored and moved onto the next one. He  _ liked _ David. 

Dinner was planned for Friday. Not with a reservation, Patrick didn’t want to cancel another one. But dinner at Patrick’s was on the schedule and David still hadn’t cancelled, and Patrick just had to clock in another hour at the office and then it was closing time. He had everything he needed for a baked ziti and garlic bread, and a salad starter if David was interested. 

There was a knock on his door at 7. He took a deep breath before he answered the door and when he answered, David was standing in the hallway, all tall, dark, handsome, and soft in an oversized sweater and drop crotch sweats. He smiled softly at Patrick, not his usual  _ ‘hi, I’ve missed you’  _ smile, but the one that was full of trepidation and Patrick knew where the night was going. 

“Come in,” Patrick stepped aside and David walked past him, but paused to press a kiss to Patrick’s temple. By the time Patrick turned his head to give him an actual kiss, David was gone and leaning against the kitchen counter, helping himself to the wine Patrick left on the counter. “How was work?”

“Fine,” David turned to face Patrick as Patrick pulled the salad from the fridge. The table was already set and the pasta had another 15 minutes left in the oven. “I’m working with a new artist, Claude Nutrie, I think I told you about him?”

Patrick shrugged as he moved past David to put the salad bowl on the table. David had not. They hadn’t talked about anything meaningful in a while. 

“Well, he’s being very particular and our artistic visions are clashing. It’s been a long week,” David said. He brought the wine to the table and refilled Patrick’s glass. “How was yours?”

“Uh,” Patrick grabbed the wood tongs from the bowl and served himself some salad, then passed it to David. “It was fine. Spent most of it fixing spreadsheets for different departments. Apparently I’m an Excel wizard.”

David cringed at the word ‘Excel’ and Patrick laughed as he speared salad onto his fork. The vinaigrette was tangy on his tongue. He looked up in time to watch David nod as he pointed at the salad. 

“That’s fucking delicious,” David praised as he served himself more. “I can’t remember the last time I had something homemade like this.”

Patrick watched as David froze and looked up slowly. Patrick just nodded as he watched David put down his fork. 

“I um,” David shook his head. “I don’t know how to—”

It was happening, Patrick knew it was. 

“I don’t think we can keep doing this,” David stuttered. “God, I don’t know how to say this.”

“Just say it,” Patrick felt his throat tighten. He put down his own fork and grabbed his glass of wine. He refilled it before taking a long sip. 

“I can’t… be emotionally involved with you? It was fun, what we were doing,” David spoke quietly. “I just—we have to stop. Whatever this is between us, it’s not going to work.”

Patrick waited for David to continue, but he didn’t say anything. That was it. 

“Can I ask why?” Patrick croaked. 

“I think you know why,” David said. 

And yeah, Patrick did in a way. There was so much left unsaid between them, but Patrick knew. How could they be together when Patrick preferred quiet nights in, or nights out where they could actually talk to each other, games and romantic dinners and David preferred loud bars and distractions? Patrick wanted longevity, a partnership where he was getting as much as he was giving. David never talked long-term. 

Patrick just nodded and they sat in silence as they sipped at their wine. The timer went off and David eyed the kitchen. 

“Do you want to stay for the rest of dinner?” Patrick asked as he got up. 

“Uh, is that okay?” David asked quietly. 

“Yeah, you’re already here.”

They ate quietly. After they finished the bottle of wine, Patrick got up and opened a second one. 

He was warm and tipsy by the time they finished eating. Patrick didn’t mention the dessert in the fridge, the cheesecake he had picked up on the way home from work. David got up and stopped in front of Patrick. He placed warm heavy hands on Patrick’s cheeks and tilted his head up, bent down and pressed a soft kiss to Patrick’s lips. 

Patrick couldn’t stop his hand from coming up and gripping David’s wrist, keeping him close as he deepened the kiss. He could feel David whimper against him. David’s hand that wasn’t held in place by Patrick slid down Patrick’s neck, over his shoulder until long fingers wrapped around his bicep, fingertips dug into his triceps and pulled him up. 

“David,” Patrick breathed as he stood up. David took in a shuddering breath and pulled back, just enough for his dark eyes to take in David’s face. “Just, one last time?”

David pulled him into a kiss in response. 

Patrick led him into the bedroom where they fell onto the bed. They fucked slowly and sweetly. Patrick felt like he was shaking apart at the seams, so close to breaking into smaller pieces and floating away into the night sky through the open window. 

David fucked into him gently, his face tucked into Patrick’s neck and in that moment, Patrick couldn’t figure out why they couldn’t work. This version of David could love him. He  _ knew _ he could. David’s hands were warm on Patrick’s skin as they swept over him, left goosebumps in their wake. This David cared and showed emotion and was absolutely perfect. 

They laid together after they both came, facing each other on the bed. 

In the dark, he could see the war raging on David’s face. There were conflicting parts to David, a push and pull where David didn’t know who he was or who he wanted to be, didn’t know which of those two sides had more pull and sway. 

As much as it pained Patrick, he knew that David was right. It absolutely could not work. 

He dressed in sweats and a random t-shirt when they finally got out of bed and he walked David to the door in silence. David didn’t look back as he crossed into the hallway and Patrick didn’t wait to see if he looked back at all before he closed the door and swung the lock into place. 

  
  



	5. Cherry

_ Cherry _

_ “I, I just miss, I just miss your accent and your friends. Did you know I still talk to them? Does he take you walking ‘round his parents’ gallery? Don’t you call him “baby”, we’re not talking lately, don’t you call him what you used to call me.” _

It was weird how it only took three months to grow so accustomed to having someone in your life. Patrick moved through his days slowly, heavily. The bustle of the city wasn’t enough to fill the absence that he felt when David left, the horns of cars on the 101 couldn’t drown out the feelings of loss. 

Patrick hated to admit it, but he wallowed after the breakup. He met David fairly soon after he moved and he had gotten so wrapped up in  _ David, David, David  _ once they started seeing each other, that he had ignored every other aspect in his life. He had no substantial friendships in L.A. outside of people he talked to at work. When he wasn’t at work, he mostly mopped around his apartment. He went to the gym when he felt like it, cooked when he had the energy. 

A week passed and he fought himself, kept himself from looking at social media in fear of what was going to be there. With every day that passed, Patrick got more and more curious and he knew he was going to slip up soon. He constantly had a thumb hanging over Instagram, had even opened the app a few times just to close it fast before he could accidentally see something he didn’t want to see. The fear was crippling and he didn’t know what was going to be worse, seeing David on social media with someone else, or discovering that David had blocked him.

His phone rang and he picked it up off the coffee table quickly. It was Rachel, his best friend since childhood. He contemplated not answering. He was tired and wanted to be alone, but he knew that if he didn’t answer, she’d call again, and again until he did and then she’d probably yell at him for not answering. 

“I bought a plane ticket. I’m coming to see you this weekend,” Rachel said in her no nonsense voice. Patrick just hummed in appreciation. “I arrive Thursday at 7 pm at the Burbank airport. Pick me up?”

“Yep,” Patrick cleared his throat. 

“Hey, Patty,” Patrick clenched his eyes at the nickname. “You’re going to be okay.”

“Okay,” Patrick whispered. 

“7 pm. Thursday,” Rachel repeated. 

“Yes,” Patrick smiled at the thought of seeing her again. 

“Try to take Friday off?” She asked. 

“It should be fine.”

When Thursday came around, Patrick drove to the airport, music on low as he navigated through traffic. He stood outside the gate and when she crossed into his line of sight, she broke out into a jog, her roller bag dragged behind her and he picked her up into a spinning hug. 

She hugged him back tightly and he held her for what felt like minutes, in the swarm of people moving past them. She ran her fingers along the base of his hairline and he tried to bite back the tears. When they pulled away, she squeezed his arm. 

“Let’s go, Patty Bear.”

Rachel made them stop at the liquor store and when they got to Patrick’s, she pulled out his blender and started making margaritas. He waited on the couch, bundled in his duvet that she pulled off his bed and rested on his nice pillows and not the ones that came with his couch. 

“So where are we on the post-breakup feelings?” She asked as she sat down next to him and handed him a glass. “Have you gotten into the cyber-stalking portion yet?”

“No,” Patrick responded. He dragged his finger through the condensation that was already seeping down the side of the glass. 

“If you’re ready, we should probably do that now, so we can move past that before the end of the weekend,” Rachel reasoned. 

He would feel better if she was there when he did it. And he knew he was going to do it. Sooner or later. 

Patrick unlocked his phone before he could think about it and tapped through instagram until he was on David’s page. David hadn’t blocked him. Every inch of his account was still public and viewable and Rachel crowded in close as he clicked on the latest picture David posted. 

His brain was filled with static as he recognized Duncan, with an arm wrapped around David, lips pressed to David’s temple. 

“Oh,” Rachel whispered as Patrick scrolled to the next one. It was a selfie in an apartment that wasn’t David’s, and Patrick could see an outfit hanging from a door in the background. 

“He’s seeing someone?” Patrick gasped. “Already?”

He clicked on David’s icon, where it glowed with the story notification. He clicked on it before he could tell himself not to and he shut his eyes quickly at the short clip of Duncan pulling David into a kiss, but it wasn’t fast enough and he opened his eyes again, just to torture himself as he watched David’s eyes slip closed and a small smile grace his lips. 

“God,” He handed his phone to Rachel and sunk back into the couch. 

How? Did David—

He pulled at the duvet until it covered his head. There was a small hand on his arm, he could feel it through the duvet. Hot tears prickle at the corners of his eyes. “I’m so stupid.”

Rachel pulled the blankets off of his head. 

“You’re not.”

“I thought that David Rose would actually be interested in me,” Patrick wiped furiously at the tears that had spilled over. “That was stupid of me.”

“It wasn’t stupid,” Rachel said. She moved and then her hands pulled at him until he was nestled underneath her arm, tucked in tight even though he had a solid 7 inches on her. “You’re not stupid.”

“It hasn’t even been long, and he’s already seeing someone else?” Patrick mourned. Rachel rubbed her hands along his arm. 

Rachel didn’t respond, instead she just held him and Patrick let the tears fall. 

They were in Patrick’s bed, drunk beyond movement, when Patrick breached the topic again. 

“What do you think he has that I don’t?” Patrick asked into the darkness. 

“Who?” Patrick could hear the annoyance in Rachel’s voice. She was drunk and still on Toronto time and Patrick almost felt bad for waking her up.

“David’s new boyfriend.”

The words hurt to say. 

“You don’t know he’s his boyfriend,” Rachel whispered. “Were you his boyfriend?”

Patrick didn’t know what to say. They had never talked about that. He had never wanted to say it outloud, scared that he might drive David away, and David had never uttered anything like that outloud.

“Hey,” Rachel reached out and poked him on the nose. “You were too good for him.”

Patrick made a noise of disapproval.

“You guys just crossed paths at the wrong time. You needed more time to be settled into living in L.A. and David needed more time to grow,” Rachel’s voice was gentle. “I honestly believe that it wasn’t either of your guys’ fault.”

He let the words settle into his brain. Maybe she was right. He didn’t think of a response until Rachel was asleep and snoring softly next to him. 

It took him much longer to fall asleep. He couldn’t stop himself from thinking about David and Duncan. The two of them. Was David happy? What did Duncan give him that David couldn’t? 

Duncan was more involved in David’s world than Patrick was. Did David sweep Duncan through the gallery where they talked about  _ art  _ and  _ movements  _ and all that shit? 

The more Patrick thought about it, the more it made sense, and the more it hurt. 

In the morning, he had a follow request from Stevie on instagram and a pending message from her. 

_ The parties are worse without you there. Hope all is well.  _

  
  



	6. Falling

_ Falling _

_ “What if I’m down? What if I’m out? What if I’m someone you won’t talk about? I’m fallin’ again, I’m fallin’ again, I’m fallin. And I get the feelin’ that you’ll never need me again.” _

It took a lot less time than Patrick thought it was going to. He thought he had another month until he ran into David. They lived far away enough from each other that running into each other wasn’t likely, but David’s gallery and Patrick’s office was close enough that it could happen, especially when David’s favorite coffee shop and Patrick’s favorite were close enough in proximity and one tended to be empty when the other was busy.

So it shouldn’t have been a surprise when Patrick ran into David, right inside Patrick’s favorite coffee shop, 

“Oh,” Patrick exhaled as he turned and stopped right before he ran into David. David’s brows furrowed in recognition. 

“Hi,” David whispered. David was already holding a to-go cup, wrapped up in his long fingers. 

“You ready babe?” A voice spoke from next to them. Patrick’s eyes flicked to the person in question.

“Yeah,” David said. Duncan reached for David’s hand and Patrick watched as David’s fingers tangled in theirs. “You remember Patrick? We, uh—”

“Yeah, I remember,” Duncan nodded in greeting at Patrick. 

“Hey man,” Patrick responded. Hey man? Patrick grimaced at himself. 

“We gotta go,” Duncan took a step to the side. “We’re going to be late and Francine is waiting.”

“Yeah,” David nodded. 

Patrick watched as they walked away. He ordered sullenly and that night, he pulled out his phone and sent a text to a number that he should’ve deleted a while ago. 

_ Hey, can we get coffee soon? I want to talk. I think I need closure. _

*

David said yes to coffee and Patrick had chosen a bipartisan shop, one that neither of them had any emotional ties to. Of course, Patrick got there before David did and when he went up to the counter to order, he made sure to only order his tea. He had told himself to while he walked up to the cafe, but before he could swipe his card, he added on David’s order and went to sit at a table to wait, a book in hand because he was absolutely sure that David was going to be late. 

He wasn’t, and Patrick looked up in surprise when the chair across from him slid against the tile on the floor. 

“Hi,” David murmured as he sat down and pulled his chair in. 

“Hey,” Patrick wrapped his hands around his warm mug. He had opted for the sit-down option for his drink and a to-go cup for David, who always sipped slowly at his coffee. 

“Thanks for the coffee,” David said. He toyed at the paper sleeve and Patrick couldn’t take his eyes off of David’s fingertips where they peeled at the sharp corner of the cardboard. 

Patrick hummed in response. He knew he needed to start the conversation, he was the one who reached out and opened the channel of communication, but with David in front of him, just as gorgeous as the day that he left, Patrick forgot what he wanted to say; or rather what he felt like he needed to say. 

“I’m really glad you reached out,” David broke the silence. 

That wasn’t what Patrick was expecting. He raised his eyebrows at David and David looked down, ran a finger along the lip of the cup.

“I,” David took a deep breath and for a second, anger flared in Patrick. David was the one to break things off and now he was sitting there, across from Patrick, playing with his coffee, overcome with emotion and unable to form words. 

“Why did you do it?” Patrick interrupted before David could form a complete sentence. 

“Do what?” David asked. 

“Break up with me? Start seeing me in the first place?” Patrick couldn’t stop himself. “Why did you make me feel like we had a chance?”

“Patrick,” David whispered. 

“What were we, even? What was I to you?” Patrick’s throat was sticky and we couldn’t swallow past the emotion that settled there. 

The cafe was loud around them. It buzzed with people as they milled around their table. 

“You know why I had to break up with you,” David said. Patrick took a sip of tea just to give himself something to do, just to keep from interrupting David again. “We just, it wasn’t going to work. You need someone stable, and I need someone who doesn’t care.”

“That’s bullshit.”

Patrick hadn’t meant for it to slip out. 

“It’s not,” David shook his head. 

“David,” Patrick’s voice cracked and he cleared his throat. Just wanted to hide the noise, but David frowned at it anyways. 

“I’ve never dated anyone I respected, or thought was nice, and you will always be that person,” David said quietly. His fingers reached out, trailed over Patrick’s knuckles. “I wish we had a chance, but sometimes life doesn’t work out that way.”

David’s smile was soft, but twisted to the side and Patrick nodded as he considered what David said. 

“Why Duncan?” Patrick asked. It hurt to ask, but he  _ had  _ to. 

“Why not?” David laughed. He waved a hand in the air. “He’s good in bed, flighty and doesn’t care about anyone.”

Patrick was torn between being upset that  _ that  _ was David’s explanation and being relieved. 

“He’s probably the best person for me to use to get over you,” David continued. “It’s not going to last.”

They sat in silence. 

“I really liked you, David,” Patrick whispered. 

“I liked you too,” David whispered back. “I do miss our Twilight Zone marathons.”

His eyes snapped up and Patrick stared at David. David knocked a knuckle against the tabletop. 

“I do miss you, Patrick, and hope that you realize that all of it was for the best.”

Patrick nodded and then took a sip of his drink. “I’m kind of surprised you shared all this.”

“I’m not a good, or a nice person, but I figured if anyone deserved a real conversation, it was you.”

When David did leave the table, Patrick was still sipping on cold tea and he did feel a little bit better as he watched David walk out of the cafe. 

  
  



	7. To Be So Lonely

_ To Be So Lonely _

_ “Don’t call me “baby” again, you got your reasons, I know that you’re tryna be friends. I know you mean it. But don’t call me “baby” again, it’s hard for me to go home, be so lonely.” _

Patrick felt good. He rubbed his hands against his basketball shorts before he picked up the heavy hammer. His muscles ached, and his arms screamed in protest as he brought it up in a big circle and then let it fall to bounce off the tractor tire he had in front of him. The song in the gym changed and he tightened his grip on the handle in an effort to control the bounce. 

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the screen of his phone light up where it was on the floor next to his water bottle. He focused back on the tire and kept swinging, changing primary hands with each regrip. 

His trainer called out to him and Patrick let out a mumbled  _ ‘thank god’  _ at the sound. His body was exhausted. He had pushed himself more that week than he ever had before and his muscles ached from the exercises. 

Going to the gym was something that he had re-picked up after his talk with David. Rachel had tried to help Patrick get back into a routine during her visit, but his talk with David in the coffee shop had snapped him back into it. It was like with that bit of closure, he was able to finally start to move on. 

The text he had gotten was from Stevie, confirming their plans for drinks that evening. They had started hanging out after following each other on instagram and Patrick considered her a friend, which was a sentiment she seemed to reciprocate. They never talked about David, no matter how many times Patrick had gotten drunk and been almost unable to bite his tongue. 

Drinks with Stevie were good, as normal, and Patrick tucked himself into a Lyft at the end of the night and then took a couple of tries to get his key into the lock; his drunken fingers tried to shove the key in upside down.

He made a beeline to the kitchen for water, where he took off his shoes at the sink as he waited for his glass to fill. He downed half the glass, then refilled it and stopped in his living room. His bed was calling him, but his couch blanket was soft and HGTV had just dumped a bunch of shows on Hulu. 

Patrick was warm from the alcohol and intoxicated enough to not care. So he peeled his clothes off and tossed them into his bedroom. He cuddled under his blanket, on the couch, and was scrolling through the list of House Hunters episodes when his phone buzzed. Twice. Two different texts, same time stamp. One was from Stevie saying the guy she was going to go home with was a bust, but she was in a Lyft on her way home. The other was from David. 

Patrick furrowed his brow as he opened the text message. Their chat history was empty and David’s message sat at the top of the screen. 

_ wanna come over? _

He was going to ignore it, but a second one came through.

_ I have a bottle of that cab you like _

He was sure that the first text was a mistake, sent to him on accident, because of a slip of the fingers. But there was a particular bottle of cabernet sauvignon that Patrick loved, that was way out of his budget, but completely within David’s. 

**I think you sent that to the wrong person.**

Patrick put his phone down, but before he could hit play on the episode he had left his remote on, his phone rang. 

“I didn’t send that to the wrong person,” David’s voice was low in Patrick’s ear and Patrick couldn’t help the fact that his heart started to race at the sound. That specific timber had created a pavlovian response in Patrick’s body that Patrick had no control over. It was sobering and for the first time that night, he felt in control.

He considered what to say next. Wine with David wasn’t just wine with David. It opened a door to a messy make out, and wild sex. It was a  _ horrible  _ idea, especially to Patrick who was still feeling a lot of things about what happened between them. 

“I’ve already settled into the night,” Patrick said in response. It wasn’t a no, and David knew that, if his hum was anything to go by. 

He shouldn’t, but Patrick was a weak man and it was nice to indulge every once in a while.

“I’m amenable to the location.”

“I’m not dressed,” Patrick continued.

“That’s perfect,” The hitch in David’s breath was audible.

“What about Duncan?” Patrick asked.

“Not in the picture.”

“Come over?” 

It felt like no time at all before there was a tentative knock on Patrick’s door. He got off the couch, wrapped the blanket tighter around his shoulders and opened the door to David standing in the hallway. He was breathtaking and Patrick was sure this was going to ruin him, more than the night David broke their relationship off.

He moved back into his apartment to let David in. He was holding the bottle of wine, and he raised it up and out towards Patrick. “Shall I open it?”

Patrick clung to the blanket, his fingers poked through the loose knit and he considered the question. 

“No,” Patrick whispered. He untangled his fingers, let the yarn slide through his loose grip until the blanket fell and pooled at his feet. There was the soft thud of the wine bottle being put down on the table, then David’s hands ghosted over Patrick’s skin before they wrapped around his biceps. 

“Patrick,” David murmured as his hands slid up Patrick’s arm, tickling up along the back of Patrick’s neck. Patrick stepped into David’s space and stretched up until he was kissing David. 

David’s fingers dug into Patrick’s skin as he deepened the kiss. Their lips moved urgently and whenPatrick opened his mouth with a gasp, David licked into him. Patrick wrapped his arms around David’s waist and pulled him through the apartment into his bedroom. 

“Take your clothes off,” Patrick murmured when he broke the kiss to fall back on the bed. He scooted to the edge as David pulled his sweater off and started on David’s pants. 

He watched as David knelt and pulled at the laces of his shoes. God, David was beautiful and Patrick felt his heart tear open at the sight of David back in his bedroom. David took up a lot of space with his confidence and the way he held himself. It was intoxicating, being in the middle of the force of David Rose. Patrick was excited to be back in it, to be the focus of David’s laser focus, to be under David’s touch and mouth.

David was naked and moving into Patrick’s space until he was crowded against him and Patrick had no choice but to fall back and scoot up the bed until David was laid out on top of him, kissing him and stroking his skin as Patrick arched up into him. 

He needed him, needed David to fuck him and chase all the bad out of his head. 

David’s lips were on his neck, then his collarbone, biting into his nipple as his fingers teased over Patrick’s hips. 

“David,” Patrick gasped as his fingertips ghosted over Patrick’s half hard cock. David hummed as he moved lower until he took Patrick into his mouth. “Oh.”

Patrick reached down instinctively until his fingers tangled in David’s hair, right in the longest pieces. He missed David’s mouth on him, how David’s tongue moved against him as he took Patrick deeper into his throat. David’s eyes were dark and focused on him when Patrick looked down; he groaned at the sight of his cock in David’s mouth and David’s eyes trained on him. 

When David’s mouth dipped lower, he pushed at the back of Patrick’s thigh until his leg was up in the air.

“David!” Patrick moaned as his fingers slipped from David’s hair as David licked his hole. 

Patrick clenched his eyes shut as he twisted his fingers in the sheets as David worked him open. 

“Need you to fuck me,” Patrick pulled David back up to him and tilted his head so he could kiss David. “The lube and condoms are in—”

“I remember,” David whispered before he kissed Patrick again. When David pulled apart, he reached for the lube and a condom that Patrick kept in his bedside table. 

Patrick let out a long low moan when David finally pushed into him. 

“Patrick,” David gasped. “Oh, fuck. I missed you.”

David hitched Patrick’s leg over his thigh as he settled over him, and hooked his arms under Patrick’s shoulders. He kissed Patrick gently as he fucked him slowly, their bodies pressed together in a sweaty heap. 

“Right there,” Patrick whispered as David changed the angle of his hips and the head of his cock dragged along his prostate each time he pulled out and pushed back in. David’s lips rarely broke away from Patrick’s the entire time. 

Patrick came with a soft cry and David followed soon after. David moved, reached down, but didn’t break the kiss as he pulled out and tossed the condom onto the ground. 

They kissed softly until Patrick fell asleep. 

When he woke up in the morning, David was gone. All traces of him erased from Patrick’s apartment, except for the bottle of wine left unopened on the dining table.

  
  



	8. She

_ She _

_ “She, she, she’s the first one that I see, she, she lives in daydreams with me.” _

Sleeping with David had been a mistake. Patrick knew it was going to be, but he ignored the voice inside his head because he wanted David that badly, needed him. Now, he couldn’t get David out of his mind. 

David was on his mind when he woke up. He was a constant character in his dreams; he popped into Patrick’s mind at all hours and it was driving Patrick crazy. It wasn’t just the intimacy and the sex that he missed, but it was  _ everything.  _

It was just  _ David.  _

Patrick needed to get over him. He needed to move on and just accept the fact that it wasn’t going to happen. David had said it: there was no way it was going to work and Patrick agreed. 

He needed to meet someone, to just wipe the slate clean. Stevie was coming over to catch up on the last three episodes of Survivor, he would wait to set up his Tinder account until she got there. He wasn’t looking forward to it, but Stevie and wine could make it fun. 

She arrived with two six-packs of beer and the pizza arrived shortly after. 

“Okay, download Tinder! Are you also going to download grindr?” Stevie asked as she brought him a fresh beer. 

“I don’t think I want to do Grindr just yet?” Patrick replied. He fidgeted with his phone until he had tinder downloading. 

“Okay,” Stevie shifted until she was sitting right next to him. She had a slice of pizza in one hand and her drink in the other. “Show me your photos, but not your nudes.”

Patrick blushed and tried to scowl at her. “Those are in a locked folder.”

“Do you still have the ones David sent you?” Stevie raised her eyebrows at him, her smirk was ever present and Patrick could feel his cheeks burn. “I know he gave you permission to save them.”

“No, I deleted those,” Patrick took a deep sip from his drink and tapped his phone as the screen began to dim. “When we broke up.”

Stevie hummed as she nodded. “Okay, let me see your options. You have some good ones on your instagram.”

They scrolled through Patrick’s photos and he uploaded the ones Stevie pointed out onto his profile. He kept his information short and before he knew it, they were scrolling through their respective feed together. 

“Oh, he’s cute!” Stevie said as he scrolled through a guy's photo.  _ Ken, 26.  _ “He seems like the complete opposite of David. Which, might as well.”

Ken seemed petite, where David was broad and strong and taller than Patrick, and he had a wide, blinding smile, where David’s were usually more reserved and little half smiles that made Patrick’s heart skip a beat. 

“His profile says he likes hiking and working out, and I don’t remember the last time David went on a hike that wasn’t just to get a good instagram photo,” Stevie shrugged. “Worth a shot.”

By the end of the first episode, he had a match and a message from Ken. He eyed Stevie, but she was busy on her app, typing out messages to a girl named Twyla. 

Three days later, he had a first date with Ken scheduled.

*

Ken was...interesting. He was sweet, and nice and had spent most of dinner leaning in towards Patrick. He laughed at Patrick’s jokes, even the ones that Patrick knew weren’t funny. He was handsome, and Patrick was getting a very submissive vibe from him, which could be fun. But it was strange. 

His shoes were weird and David would hate them, which spurred him on to invite Ken back to his apartment. 

Ken was a timid kisser, and he followed Patrick’s lead. But his body was sweet under Patrick’s hands and he stayed where Patrick put him, and blinked up at him with wide eyes. Ken was quiet as Patrick prepped him. Patrick could see how Ken was biting back his gasps, but he couldn’t prompt him to  _ let them out _ . 

He pressed his cock into Ken and all he could think about was David, David,  _ David.  _ David who usually hitched up his left knee to create more room for Patrick. David who let his gasps and moans fill the room when Patrick fucked him. David who knew what to say to drive Patrick mad with lust. 

“I want to make you come, tell me what you like,” Patrick gasped out. 

“Slap me,” Ken panted as he tilted his cheek so it was open for Patrick. 

“Not on the face without negotiation before,” Patrick fucked Ken harder. 

“My ass then,” Ken nudged at Patrick’s shoulder until Patrick pulled out so Ken could roll onto his front and Patrick could slap his ass while they fucked. 

Afterwards, Patrick walked Ken out with reassurances that he’d text him, even though he knew he wasn’t going to. 

When he fell asleep, it was to the ghost of an image of David, all sated and fucked out, half asleep on Patrick’s pillow.

  
  



	9. Sunflower Vol. 6

_ Sunflower Vol. 6 _

_ “I couldn’t want you any more. Kiss in the kitchen like it’s a dance floor. I couldn’t want you any more tonight, tonight, tonight.” _

“I think I’m over him,” Patrick said. Stevie looked up at him, eyebrows raised, and put her phone down on the table in front of her. 

“Hello to you too,” Stevie joked.

“Hi, Stevie. Thank you for inviting me out to dinner,” Patrick picked up the menu that rested in front of him. 

Stevie shrugged. “It’s been a while, figured we both needed this.”

“We do,” Patrick furrowed his eyebrows in confusion when a waiter put down two pint glasses. 

“I ordered drinks when I sat down,” Stevie picked up her glass and took a big swig. “So you’re over him?”

“I think so,” Patrick opened the menu. “I think I’m over the really big feelings. I feel good.”

“Good. My birthday is next week and David’s hosting a party for me. I would like for you to come,” Stevie’s voice was soft; it was the most unsure he’s ever heard her. 

He looked up briefly to make eye contact with Stevie. 

“I’ll be there,” Patrick smiled at her and kicked her foot under the table. “Now, what beer did you order me?”

*

Patrick took a Lyft to the party. The last thing he wanted was to have to come back to David’s in the morning to pick up his car. He held on tightly to the card he had in one hand and the bottle of wine in the other. The card was for Stevie, a 6 month subscription to a wine club, and the actual bottle of wine was for David. 

He wasn’t sure what the proper protocol was for going to a party thrown by your ex for one of your best friends, but he didn’t want to show up empty handed, even if he probably wasn’t going to be faced with David. If this was like any of David’s old parties, there was no way their paths were going to cross. 

When the door opened, David was standing on the other side. Alone. 

“Hi, Patrick,” David leaned against the door. Patrick peered past him but he couldn’t see much from this vantage point. Did he get the day wrong? “Come on in. Everyone’s out on the balcony.”

So he did have the right day, and the party fit on the balcony. Which meant it was a more intimate affair. Which meant paths would be crossed.

“This is for you,” Patrick held out the bottle. 

“Thank you,” David took it from him. Neither of them moved. David breathed out slowly and Patrick raised his eyebrows at him. “Thank you for coming today. Stevie was worried that you wouldn’t.”

“She said that?” Patrick raised his eyebrows in disbelief. 

“In her own way,” David’s knuckles were white around the bottle of wine and Patrick was relieved that this was strange for him too. 

Seeing David like this didn’t hurt anymore. At least, it wasn’t the sharp pain of a fresh heartbreak that left you drowning in a sorrow that you’d give anything to get rid of. Instead it was like an old bruise on your arm that still hurt because you were always bumping it on things, but you got used to the gentle throb of pain and you forgot about it until you put your arm back on a table, the back of a chair. Then it hurt again, but not enough to stop you in your tracks. 

“I’m glad I can be here,” Patrick said. He chanced a soft smile at David. “For Stevie.”

“Come on, let’s go out back.”

Patrick ignored David’s apartment as he followed him through to the balcony. He didn’t look at the couch where they had cuddled together while watching romantic comedies. He didn’t dare spare a glance for the kitchen table where David had laid Patrick out and rimmed him until he cried after a fun night out. 

Outside, he was introduced to Twyla, Stevie’s  _ something _ from Tinder, and to Linda, Danielle and Trevor, a few of her coworkers. 

Dinner was nice, catered from a restaurant down the block. They all sang to Stevie, much to her dismay, and ate dessert before they forced Stevie to open their gifts. 

The coworkers left and Patrick stood to make his leave shortly after, but Stevie grabbed his wrist and pulled him down, back into his spot on the outside couch. 

“Now that the boring people have left, it’s time to party,” Stevie announced with a wide smile. 

Party meant weed and a few more bottles of wine as the sky transitioned from a soft sunset to dark enough that David had to turn on the balcony lights. 

Patrick felt good, free, as his mind began to float away. His muscles were relaxed and Patrick forgot his resignation about coming tonight. 

Stevie and David were giggling about something and Twyla had her head in Stevie’s lap, eyes closed and this was the perfect time for Patrick to sneak away for a few minutes for a glass of water. 

And to raid David’s cabinets because he was  _ starving.  _

A glass of ice water from the fridge later, and Patrick has his hand on the chip cabinet when someone cleared their throat behind him. 

“Can you get out the Doritos, in addition to what you were going to get yourself?”

Patrick turned to David with a sheepish smile. 

“Sorry,” Patrick paused, but still opened the cabinet. He pulled down the Doritos and the cheese puffs and handed the Doritos to David. 

“Thank you.”

Patrick moved to go back onto the balcony but David shook his head at him.

“They’re really going at it out there,” David said in apology. “There’s a lot of tongue.”

“Oh,” Patrick laughed. Maybe it was time to go home? His eyes moved to the clock that hung in the kitchen. It was getting late, but he was high and slightly drunk and going home just seemed too hard of an activity for his heavy body.

“I think Stevie mentioned a movie night,” David said around a chip. “Between the guest room and the couch, you’re more than welcome to stay.”

“That doesn’t seem…” Patrick trailed off. 

“Patrick, it’s fine. You’ve become an important part in Stevie’s life. We’re going to be around each other a lot,” David said. Patrick rolled a cheese puff between his fingertips. David had a point. They had been broken up for a while, and Stevie was Patrick’s best friend here. 

David was right. 

“David, are you asking to be friends?” Patrick teased. The look Patrick got in response was intense. 

“I am,” David nodded as he chewed on his bottom lip. “I’ve actually really missed our friendship.”

“Oh,” Patrick hadn’t expected  _ that.  _ It was honest, real in a way that was too much for Patrick’s inebriated brain. 

David smiled that crooked smile and Patrick smiled back. 

“Want some more wine?” David asked. “We can watch t.v. while we wait for them.”

“Sounds good.”

Twenty minutes later, Stevie and Twyla were still on the balcony and Patrick was laughing at David after he brought up the time that David dropped a pizza, fresh out of the oven, toppings down on the ground. 

“Okay, it wasn’t that funny and I really wanted that pizza,” David huffed, arms crossed and bag of doritos nestled in his lap. 

“It’s very funny,” Patrick took a deep breath and tried to hold the giggle back. After they cleaned up the floor, they sat at the dining table and shared two bottles of wine as they talked until the early morning. 

David looked away from Patrick, his eyes on the dining table and Patrick knew he was thinking about the same thing. 

“Remember when we got locked out on the balcony,” David whispered. 

Patrick did remember it. 

“We got soaked from the rain,” Patrick said. “You were in such a bad mood.”

“I was feeling very anxious about the situation,” David said. 

They had to wait for Stevie to come and unlock the door. David almost had a panic attack on the balcony and Patrick had convinced him that it was okay. They ended up making out while they waited.

They hadn’t noticed Stevie was there until she banged on the balcony door and scared them both. 

It was a good memory. 

“Better than that night we both got food poisoning from that new diner down the street,” Patrick said with a wince. 

“Oh, fuck, that was the worst night of my life,” David grimaced and let his head fall so his forehead was pressed into the back of the couch. 

“The apartment smelled so bad,” Patrick said through a laugh. David shook his head and groaned. “We survived though.”

It was quiet as they both caught their breath. 

“Did we though?” David asked, head turned against the back of the couch and his eyes were stuck on Patrick. 

“No,” Patrick whispered. 

David screwed his nose up and Patrick noticed the way his dimple in his left cheek flashed, came and went quickly as he considered what he was going to say. 

“Can I say something? That might be unfair to you?” David’s voice was whisper quiet. 

That scared Patrick, the idea of the question potentially being damaging to him, but he nodded anyways. Curiosity did kill the cat. 

“Our relationship was the best thing that ever happened to me,” David said. Patrick felt his grip on the bag of cheese puffs loosen. “I know that’s hard to believe since I broke up with you, but it was a good one.”

Patrick clenched his jaw as the emotions began to rifle through him. This wasn’t—David shouldn’t say those things. But Patrick was so relieved to have their relationship validated in David’s eyes. 

“It was so good, and I wish that it could’ve worked,” David’s voice was wistful and this, this version of David was the one that Patrick had fallen in love with. 

God, he shouldn’t have come, he should’ve gone to that diner for lunch and gotten food poisoning and then called Stevie from his deathbed. He had taken 10 full steps forward in getting over David, but taken 5 back tonight. 

“I just need you to know that I think of you in a positive way,” David continued. “And I know that you don’t think of me ... in a positive way? But that’s okay. I don’t expect that from you.”

Patrick missed David, and his stupid apartment, and these talks when he got vulnerable. 

“I meant what I said earlier, about being friends,” David opened the bag of Doritos that he had clenched closed. Patrick looked away once David looked up into his eyes. 

He just nodded. In a perfect world, him and David would be together and they’d be  _ great  _ and none of this would be happening. 

But, this wasn’t a perfect world. 

“Yeah,” Patrick nodded. 

The balcony door slid open and Stevie and Twyla spilled into the apartment. 

“Let’s watch Sister Act! Twyla hasn’t seen it!” Stevie exclaimed. 

“Okay,” David whispered, eyes still on Patrick. 

Patrick turned to the t.v. and sunk fully back into the cushions. 

He wasn’t over David. Not in the slightest. Not at all.

  
  



	10. Canyon Moon

_ Canyon Moon _

_ “Quick pause in conversation, she plays songs I’ve never heard, an old love’s hippie music, pretends not to know the words, and I keep thinking back to, a time under the canyon moon. I’ll be gone too long from you.” _

“You ready?” Patrick asked as he clapped his hands together. 

“No,” Stevie grumbled as she opened his passenger door. 

“Why do you get the passenger seat?!” David argued, arms crossed and lips sloped into a grimace. “I have the longer legs.”

“Oh, I’m sorry,” Stevie stood up straight. Patrick watched amused as she turned to David, face blank and eyes wide open. “I thought you gave up front seat privileges when you broke up with him. As the friend that hasn’t broken Patrick’s heart, I think it’s mine now.”

“Oh my god,” David turned to Patrick. Before he could say anything, Patrick cleared his throat. 

“Plus she called shotgun,” Patrick teased. Stevie turned to him with a grin. He winked back. 

“My biggest mistake was introducing the two of you,” David groaned as he got into the back seat. “Wake me up when there’s coffee!” 

*

“So why are we going to Sacramento?” Stevie asked as she pulled off a bit of her slice of lemon bread. They had made a pit stop at Starbucks two hours into their road trip. 

“Because Patrick wants to torture us,” David said. Patrick glared at him through the rear view mirror. 

“They’re having their Capitol Beer Fest this weekend,” Patrick explained. Again. 

“So we’re driving six hours to go to a,” David grimaced. “Beer Fest.”

“Oh, this is why I agreed to come,” Stevie said. She shifted in her seat to look at David and Patrick. 

“Figured it could be fun,” Patrick shrugged. “We can go to San Francisco on Sunday. Do some sight seeing. See more of California that isn’t just SoCal.”

David looked only slightly more on board. 

The real reason was that Patrick needed to get out of LA for a weekend. He needed a few days away from everything. He needed to go somewhere new, to feel the road go by under his tires. 

He needed to drive down the open highway and sing along to music as he contemplated what was next. To stay in LA or go. 

It had scared him to do it alone, though. To spend all that time with just himself. So he invited Stevie, who had shrugged and said she was always down for a road trip. Patrick extended an invitation to David when he interrupted Patrick and Stevie when they were ironing out the details, and David had accepted. 

They had two more hours on the road. Stevie was asleep. David was staring out the window as they drove up the 5. 

“Hey Patrick.”

Patrick turned down the radio at David’s soft voice. 

“Yeah?” Patrick spared a glance at Stevie who looked unaffected by them talking. 

“Sorry I was so difficult when we went to Monterey,” David said. “You planned a nice weekend and I complained the entire time. Just wanted to apologize.”

“Oh,” Patrick cleared his throat. “Thank you, David.”

David hummed. Patrick wondered if that was something David thought about randomly, whenever his brain went quiet and it decided to go through all the little regrets from his life. 

“Have I convinced you of the superiority of road trips?” Patrick teased. 

“I wouldn’t go that far,” David said with a soft smirk. 

“Okay, David.”

Maybe there was still some time left in LA. 

  
  



	11. Treat People With Kindness

_ Treat People With Kindness _

_ “Givin’ second chances, I don’t need all the answers. Feelin’ good in my skin, I just keep on dancin’.” _

Patrick and David were … friends? It was weird for Patrick to think, for him to process as fact after their painful time away. 

They hung out. Never without Stevie. But they hung out, and slowly began to tease each other again. Sometimes, Patrick even stuck up for David when he tried to argue his way into riding shotgun. 

There was still the low drum of want in Patrick’s veins for David. He was never able to shake it. He didn’t know if he completely wanted to. It was nice, dependable. It was a part of him.

He hated himself for how he was starting to think that maybe there was something similar in David. Sometimes, they would share small moments together across the room. A smile, a look, a connection. 

Patrick wanted to be angry each time David singled him out in conversation, how they gravitated towards each other, but he couldn’t. 

He wanted to feel like a fool, lining back up to get his heart broken again when David didn’t want him. Again. 

But it was  _ David.  _ And David was different. Something had happened. 

The David he saw now, all the time, was the David he only saw briefly when they were dating, when David let himself be the most vulnerable. Away from the parties, and drugs, and ever flowing alcohol.

It was David from during movie nights in Patrick’s apartment when David snuggled in close and let Patrick pick their second movie. It was David who whispered to Patrick at night about how he actually hated roses, and how each rose-flower pun made towards him made his skin crawl. Even though the logo for his gallery was a rose. It was the same David that once got drunk and told Patrick, in secret, that he wanted to adopt a cat. But a trained cat, one that wouldn’t shed on his knits or scratch his furniture. 

This David, in the now, was softer and less defensive. Patrick could  _ see  _ him. All the time. Not just in stolen moments of vulnerability. 

_ Dinner? My apartment? 7 pm? _

Patrick texted back a thumbs up, and then locked his phone. Only to immediately unlock it. David had sent that text to just him, and not in their group chat with Stevie. Patrick narrowed his eyes at his phone. 

_ See you then _

When Patrick got to David’s apartment, Stevie wasn’t there. Patrick didn’t ask. 

“Food smells good,” Patrick commented as he followed David into the kitchen. 

“Thanks,” David opened a drawer and pulled out utensils. “I didn’t make it, but I will accept compliments for the chef.”

“Tony’s,” Patrick said as he plucked the receipt off the counter. “If I go onto your balcony and yell really loudly, I’m sure I could give him the compliments myself.”

“Please don’t do that,” David said with a headshake. “I cannot be the weirdo in the penthouse.”

Patrick accepted the plate from David. “I think it’s already too late for that.”

They were an episode and a half into their Buffy rewatch when David leaned forward and picked up the remote. Patrick looked over at him when the tv froze. 

“This is okay, right?” David asked. 

Patrick’s eyebrows furrowed in response. “What is?”

“Us hanging out? Without Stevie,” David fiddled with the remote, his long fingers turned it over and over. “I wasn’t sure.”

“David,” Patrick reached out and placed a hand on top of David’s, just to stop the anxiety spiral. “It’s fine.”

“Okay,” David’s eyes were wide as they bore into Patrick’s. 

Patrick didn’t look away, just held himself together under David’s gaze until David was leaning in and Patrick moved to meet him halfway. 

His hand reached up to David’s jaw to cup the bone as he moved close to David. The couch moved underneath him as he shuffled onto his knees to get better leverage over David. 

David’s hand hooked behind his thigh and pulled until Patrick was settled on his thighs and David licked into Patrick’s mouth. David’s hands were everywhere as Patrick held David steady. David’s lips were just as soft as Patrick remembered and Patrick sighed into the next kiss. 

It felt  _ good.  _ Like Patrick’s existence shifted to the left, just a bit, just enough to slot back into place. David’s hands slid up underneath Patrick’s henley and Patrick gasped at the warmth, pulling back from the kiss with a shuddering breath. 

David’s lips were just a tad swollen and Patrick ran a thumb over his bottom lip. Something buzzed between them, wild and hot, and Patrick needed to kiss him again. More than anything. 

“I can’t have random sex with you again,” Patrick said instead. 

David shook his head. “I agree. Um.”

Patrick watched as David looked away, towards the electric fireplace. 

“I don’t think I want it to be random, or one time,” David said. When he looked back at Patrick, the expression on his face took Patrick’s breath away. There was something so earnest, so small and hopeful, scared in his eyes. Patrick reached up to smooth over the line between David’s eyebrows. “I’m at a different point in my life.”

Patrick nodded. That’s who this David was, settled into life after a transition. 

“I think I could love someone now,” David whispered. “Without going into self-sabotage mode at the first sign of feelings. Which, is um, very different for me. Historically, I don’t do well in relationships. Or anything with feelings,” David continued. He tilted his head back and blinked at the ceiling. Patrick squeezed David’s earlobe gently and smiled at David who looked back down at him with glassy eyes. “I understand if I completely ruined everything between us.”

David had, he did. But here, on this couch, in David’s extravagant apartment, Patrick couldn’t help but think that maybe he hadn’t. Maybe Patrick hadn’t been ready either. Which made everything  _ bigger.  _ And harder to deal with. 

“Patrick,” David breathed. “I love you.”

“David,” Patrick whispered. He gripped David’s bicep tightly as he nodded frantically. “I love you too.”

Patrick kissed him, cause how could he not? 

There was a small voice, in the back of his mind that told him that second chances didn’t go better than first chances. But this didn’t feel like a second chance. It felt like a continuation. David’s hands were desperate on Patrick’s skin and Patrick moved with them, shifted closer to David, held on tighter to David’s shoulders. 

David didn’t need to say it, because Patrick could feel it, but he did say it and Patrick was overwhelmed in the best way possible. 

They decided to take it slow, to ease themselves into their relationship in a way they hadn’t before. They stayed up late and talked about their fears for this time around. Patrick told David that he needed to feel like a priority in his life, and David told Patrick about how he was worried he was going to mess everything up again. 

It was going to be hard, they figured, but it was going to be worth it and they were both looking forward to it. 

They fell asleep on the couch at around 1 am when their whispered words slowed and they both drifted off to sleep midway through Patrick telling David about the next roadtrip he wanted them to take. 

Patrick left David’s apartment the next morning with a kiss and a date scheduled for the next night. 

  
  



	12. Fine Line

_ Fine Line _

_ “You sunshine, you temptress. My hand’s at risk, I fold. Crisp trepidation, I’ll try to shake this soon. Spreading you open is the only way of knowing you.”  _

Patrick blinked awake. The sun filtered through the open curtains and Patrick squeezed his eyes shut against the intrusion. 

He felt the bed move next to him, the covers got thrown over him, then watched as David appeared out of the corner of his eye. He closed the curtains and turned back to the bed. 

“Morning,” Patrick whispered as David began to move back to the bed. 

“Hi,” David whispered back. He climbed onto the bed, over Patrick’s legs and climbed back underneath the covers. “It’s too early to get up on a Saturday.”

“If we get up soon, we can go to the farmers market before those croissants you like get sold out,” Patrick murmured. But he turned into David instead of getting up. 

“There will be other stuff to eat.”

David wrapped his long arms around Patrick and pulled him in tight. His fingers dug into Patrick’s t-shirt, and Patrick tucked his own into the waistband of David’s sleep joggers as he nosed along David’s collarbone. 

It had been a month since that night on David’s couch, when they decided to try again. They had both tip-toed into the relationship with the knowledge that if it ended again, it would be devastating, but with the intention of making it work. They each had their own demons to fight, but they were ready to fight together.

It was worth it. 

He was still worried. He’d be stupid to not worry about getting his heartbroken again. But. Rachel had said it and he agreed, maybe it just hadn’t been the right time. 

Now felt like it could be the right time. 

He tilted his head up and shifted so he could look at David. 

David’s eyes closed quickly as Patrick looked up at him. There was a soft smile on his face and Patrick shifted up so his head was on David’s pillow, right next to him. 

“Uh, can I help you?” David asked, eyes still closed, his dimples deep as he bit back a smile. 

“Look at me?” Patrick whispered. 

David turned his head to look at Patrick, eyebrows raised. His eyes crossed as he focused on Patrick’s face so close to his. 

“Hi,” David’s voice was so soft and Patrick closed his eyes, just for a second, so he could fully appreciate the moment. 

Patrick tilted his chin up, just enough so he could kiss David gently, a chaste kiss that he pulled back from as soon as it started.

He opened his eyes just in time to watch David lean back in to kiss him.

They had talked about everything that happened, over and over until they were on the same page. They were in it together, hand in hand, and it was  _ good.  _

David’s fingertips scratched at Patrick’s scalp, parted his hair as they snaked to the back of Patrick’s head. He was warm against Patrick, where their bodies connected, where his lips rested against Patrick’s cheek. 

Patrick shifted until he kissed David again, soft and chaste with just a hint of tongue on David’s bottom lip. David’s grip tightened on him and Patrick kissed him again, longer, deeper, teetering on the edge of desperation. He felt David shift and push at Patrick’s shoulder until Patrick was laid out flat on his back and David was hovering over him. 

“Patrick,” David whispered. He ran his hands up David’s thighs where they bracketed Patrick’s hips. He could see the question in David’s eyes as David looked down at him. Patrick smiled and pulled David back to him. 

Patrick pulled at David’s shirt and David lifted his arms. It disappeared on the other side of the bed. Patrick sat up when David tugged on Patrick’s and that joined David’s on the floor. They shuffled and giggled as they both pushed their sweats off. 

“Come back,” Patrick whispered as he pulled on David’s thigh. David followed easily and Patrick sighed in relief at the feeling of David’s weight on him, at the feeling of David there with him. He reached and grabbed the bottle of lube from the bedside table.

David shifted and Patrick tilted his chin up for a kiss as David’s body lined up with his. David’s nose ran along Patrick’s cheekbone as David kissed his way to Patrick’s ear. 

“How do you—” 

“Like this,” Patrick whispered as he shifted his hips and his cock dragged along David’s own. They were both half hard, but the want was growing. He  _ needed  _ David like this. 

David held his hand out and Patrick flicked open the cap and squeezed a bit onto David’s palm. He reached between them and smeared the lube over their cocks. He took Patrick in hand and stroked him; Patrick tilted his head back as he settled into the feeling of David’s hand on him. 

“Patrick,” David breathed. “Look at me, honey.”

He tilted his head back down and held David’s eyes as David’s hand dipped lower to his balls, the tips of his fingers teased at his perineum. David smirked at the gasp that tore it’s way through Patrick. That always got him. 

“David,” Patrick was hard now and he groaned as David’s fingertips trailed lower, right over his hole. 

David didn’t respond, just pressed a kiss to the corner of Patrick’s lips. 

“I’ve got you,” David’s voice was low with want, his cock hard against Patrick’s and he had that blush at the top of his cheekbones that Patrick just—

Patrick groaned as David moved and his cock dragged against Patrick’s. 

It was good. It was always so good when they were in bed together. It didn’t matter what they did, it always was  _ good.  _

“Don’t hold on,” David whispered. “Want you to come for me.”

Patrick let himself get lost in David, in the drag of their cocks together. Patrick felt his orgasm spread through him as David hitched Patrick’s leg over his hip.

“David,” Patrick cried. “David, David.”

David shifted and then his hand wrapped around their cocks and Patrick whimpered at his tight grip. 

Patrick came with a moan and David followed with a sigh. 

They needed to get up, to clean up and shower. But he didn’t want to get up, not when David was pressing kiss after soft kiss into every bit of Patrick’s skin he could reach. Patrick trailed his fingers up David’s spine and huffed a laugh as he felt the goosebumps rise under his fingertips. 

He didn’t want to get up, not when David looked up, and he looked at Patrick like he was something special, that he acknowledged that this was something  _ good.  _

Like he wanted this just as bad, if not more, than Patrick did. 

He took a detour to tickle along David’s side. 

“Don’t,” David laughed as he shimmied away from Patrick. “We were having such a nice moment!”

“Come back!” Patrick grabbed for David’s arm as he got up and off the bed. “I’m sorry. Come back!”

David looked over his shoulder at Patrick as he walked away. 

“Come on, Patrick. Shower time! Gotta go see what’s left at the farmers market.”

Patrick smiled as he watched David walk away. He’d get up and join him in the bathroom. He just needed a second to feel the unbridled joy that was bubbling in him. 

“Patrick!” David called from the bathroom. He poked his head around the doorframe. 

Patrick laughed and pushed himself off the bed and followed his boyfriend into the bathroom. 

_ We’ll be alright... _

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> You can find me on tumblr[here](https://samwhambam.tumblr.com/) ! feel free to just yell at me lmao


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